Archive for the ‘Car Rental’ Category

Why Car Rental Companies Insist on Credit Cards for Obtaining Reservations

If you have ever rented a car, regardless of how you planned to pay for the actual rental, the car rental company probably asked you for a major credit card. It is standard practice for most car rental companies to require their customers to provide a major credit card at the time of rental.

Beyond simply asking for your major credit card information, most car rental companies will obtain a credit card authorization and advance charge approval to cover expenses related to any potential damages to the car while it is in your possession. In essence, your card is held as a security deposit against loss or damage.

If you turn back the car in perfect condition, nothing will be charged to your card except for the rental fee. However, if the car is damaged while it is in your possession, your credit card will immediately be charged with an appropriate fee based on the terms of your rental agreement.

The rental company will not actually charge a fee to your card at the time you rent the car. However, by obtaining an advance charge approval, the rental car company in essence reserves a certain amount of room on your card for charges they might have to make in the event the car is damaged while in your possession.

Keep in mind that all plastic is not created equal. When it comes to renting a car, there is a big difference between a credit card and a check card or debit card. Many car rental companies will not accept check cards or debit cards for rental car security deposits. Rental companies cannot process advance charge approvals against debit or check cards, and so do not accept such cards for security deposit payments.

Before letting you complete the car rental transaction, the rental company will get permission from you to charge your card if something does happen to the car while you have it. Additionally, the rental car company will verify that there is sufficient room under your credit limit cap on the card to cover the amount required for a security deposit.

Also keep in mind that car rental companies won’t just take any credit card, Get quality used second hand cars from Trusted Dealers in the UK. When you rent a car, you don’t need just any major credit card. You need your major credit card. The person whose name appears on the credit card has to be listed as an authorized driver on the rental agreement and the person has to be present at the time the car is rented. In other words, you can’t borrow your friend’s credit card to use for the security deposit on a rent a car.

Cheap Car Rental Tricks



It is not that difficult to find cheap car rental. You just have to know all the tricks. Learn why it is better to rent the car in the weekend or for a week. Find out why you should prepay the car and how to get a free upgrade. Read about the right insurance and how to get a few extra hours for free.

The best way to find cheap car rental is to compare the different car rental agencies. It can be very time-consuming, but fortunately you can find car rental search engines on the Internet that can compare the rate from several agencies for you. You just have to enter the locations and the dates, and then the website will find the cheapest offers.

It is possible for you to plan your vacation so you need the car in the weekend, you can often save a lot of money. Usually you can find special weekend offers at the car rental agencies.

Another way to find cheap car rental is long term rental. It is often possible to rent a car for a week for the same price as 4 or 5 days will cost you.

Do you want a larger car model? Then ask. The car rental agencies are willing to buy your loyalty by offering you extra service, so if you ask for an upgrade, they will normally give it to you, if it is possible. But do not plan your whole vacation (and your luggage) on it. Think about it as an extra bonus.

If you say no to the insurance, you can save a lot of money. But it can also cost you a lot of money, if you are not insured when to get involved in a car accident. So read the policy carefully, before you refuse it.

On the other hand there is a lot of extra, easy money to be earned for the car rental agencies on the insurance part of the car rental. So use your common sense and buy only the insurances you think you need.

A normal car rental day is 24 hours. So you can save a whole day, if you keep it for e.g. 23 hours instead of 25 hours. So try to plan your vacation, so you can return it earlier on the returning day than on the day you collected it. If it is not possible, you can try to ask the car rental agency if it is possible to keep it a few extra hours for free. Normally it is not a problem.

Finally it is a good idea to prepay the car. So instead of renting the car at arrival in the airport, you should find a good price on the Internet and book the car in advance. Then the car will also be ready for you, when you arrive in the airport.

Too Old to Drive a Rental Car?



As the population in Australia gets older, the problem of renting a car both in Australia and overseas becomes more of an issue. Most car companies will have some kind of restriction if the older generation is looking to rent a vehicle. Whilst you may think that as someone that has been driving for 50 years or more, car rental companies can see you as a major risk to their asset

The Senior Driver Surcharge is payable by senior drivers over &/or between a specific age. This depends on country and/or car rental company. It is just the same as our car insurance companies here in Australia charge a higher premium if you have a driver aged 21 years on the insurance.

The reason why it is charged is because the car rental company sees senior drivers as high risk and they get charged a premium to have senior drivers covered by their insurance company. However, other car rental companies just restrict the driving age so they don’t have to get additional insurance.

To give you a few examples on how it differs between suppliers, let’s take a look at Car Rental in Ireland. One car rental company has a maximum age of 74 years with no surcharge payable. Another car rental company charges a EUR29 incl Tax /day fee for drivers aged between 70-74 years. And, a third car rental company doesn’t charge a surcharge but they require additional documentation from driver’s aged between 76-79 years, as follows -

1) Note from their Insurers stating that they have not been involved in any accidents within the past 5 years.

2) Note from their doctor stating that they are in full health.

When booking your car rental, it is advisable to always be truthful of the age/s of all drivers and ask the car rental company if there are any additional conditions for senior driver’s. Failure to do so may result in you using public transport to get around on your holiday.

Car Rental brokers, such as DriveAway Holidays will be able to advise quickly as to which company is going to be able to accomodate the older driver.